Tierra del Fuego

Tierra del Fuego, archipelago, at the southern extremity of South America. In shape the main island, separated from the mainland by the Strait of Magellan, is a triangle with its base on Beagle Channel. The total area is 28,473 square miles (73,746 square km), about two-thirds of which is Chilean and one-third Argentine. The boundary, agreed upon in 1881, follows the meridian 68°36′38″ W, from Cabo (cape) Espíritu Santo on the Atlantic, and the east–west Beagle Channel. Lennox, Picton, Nueva, and several small islands at the mouth of the channel are disputed between the two republics.

The physical features of Tierra del Fuego are varied. Most of the northern portion of the main island, consisting of glacial topography, mainly lakes and moraines, is under 600 feet (180 metres) in height, and the Atlantic and Strait of Magellan coasts are low-lying. In contrast, the southern and western parts of the main island and the archipelago are a prolongation of the Andes, with peaks exceeding 7,000 feet, notably Monte Sarmiento (7,550 feet [2,300 metres]) and Monte Darwin (7,999 feet [2,438 metres]), and mountain glaciers. The climate of Tierra del Fuego is monotonously cool in summer and cold in winter, with great contrast in annual rainfall, from 180 inches (4,600 mm) at Bahía Félix on Isla Desolación, Chile, to 20 inches at Río Grande, Arg. In the exposed southern and western areas, vegetation is limited to mosses and stunted trees. The central part of the main island has deciduous beech forests, and the northern plains have a tussock grass cover.

The archipelago was discovered by the navigator Ferdinand Magellan in 1520, when he sailed through the strait named after him and called the region Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire). Various navigators traversed the area, but no systematic exploration was attempted until the British Admiralty undertook a thorough survey of the entire archipelago between 1826 and 1836. For 350 years after Magellan’s voyage, the region was left in the undisputed occupation of its indigenous peoples, the Ona, Yahgan, and Alacaluf Indians, but after 1880 colonization by Chilean and Argentine nationals was sparked by the introduction of sheep farming and the discovery of gold. The discovery of petroleum at Manantiales in 1945 converted the northern part of Tierra del Fuego into Chile’s only oil field. Pipelines have been laid to the Strait of Magellan for export of the oil to middle Chile, drilling platforms have been built in the Strait of Magellan, and a small refinery meets local needs. There is some lumbering in the forested areas of the Beagle Channel and the Strait of Magellan; fish and crayfish canning at Ushuaia, Arg., and Porvenir, Chile; and fur hunting for nutria and seal. A meat refrigeration plant is located at Río Grande, but most surplus sheep are processed on the mainland.

Roads are poor in Tierra del Fuego, and there are no railways. Air services however, link major settlements to Punta Arenas, Chile, and Río Gallegos, Arg. Sea communications are also important; a regular service links Porvenir and Punta Arenas, and naval vessels supply Ushuaia and the Isla Navarino, Chile.